Grammy nominations are out!
Friday, Dec 7 2007

Why do I always have faith that this year, finally, the Grammy people will pick decent nominees? Come on. They might as well call it the Grannys, because these people have the taste of a 90-year-old.

I will start with the absurdity:

Why was this beautiful man not nominated for a single Grammy?!?!

Robin Thicke made one of the most notable debuts of the year. He’s the only white artist to make an album that is genuine, contemporary R&B — not pop-R&B like Justin Timberlake, not retro soul like Amy Winehouse, but genuine, modern, contemporary R&B, and to be accepted without question.

“Lost Without U” became such a hit, and it was a shock, because his label did absolutely nothing to promote him or his outstanding album, The Evolution of Robin Thicke.

I’m especially surprised because his music is the kind of music that Grammy voters love — stuff that’s easy to listen to, like John Mayer or Alicia Keys.

This is a travesty. He should have been nominated for Best New Artist, Song of the Year for “Lost Without U,” and Best Male R&B Performance or Best R&B Album at the very least.

Before I go onto the next topic, I know most people don’t know the difference between the three kinds of awards. Here are the basics:

Album of the Year refers to a full album of songs. Deserving winners of the past include:

Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill

OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below

Michael Jackson’s Thriller

Carole King’s Tapestry

Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life

Record of the Year refers to a single track, focusing on the production and the performance by the artist. This is awarded to the artist and the production team. Deserving winners of the past include:

Coldplay, “Clocks”

Santana, “Smooth”

Whitney Houston, “I Will Always Love You”

The Eagles, “Hotel California”

Simon & Garfunkel, “Mrs. Robinson”

Song of the Year is the award that honors strictly the song and nothing else. This award goes to the songwriter, not the artist (though the artist is often the songwriter). Deserving winners of the past include:

Alicia Keys’s “Fallin'”

Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose”

Bette Midler’s “Wind Beneath My Wings”

Billy Joel’s “Just the Way You Are”

Henry Mancini’s “Moon River”

That being said, it’s time for the most absurd nomination of all:

HOW COULD “CRANK THAT” BE NOMINATED FOR RAP SONG OF THE YEAR?!?!?!

Keep in mind that this is song, NOT record. I could understand record because nothing other track sounds quite like this. But song? SONG?! Do you really think it took Soulja Boy more than half an hour to write it?

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh YOUUUUUU!

vs.

Here are the major nominees. It’s too early for me to analyze and predict just yet, so I’ll just bold the ones that I consider most deserving:

Album of the Year:

Foo Fighters, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace

Vince Gill, These Days

Herbie Hancock, River: The Joni Letters

Kanye West, Graduation

Amy Winehouse, Back to Black

I can’t choose! Honestly, I think that Back to Black is the better album of the two, but this is Kanye’s hour. He’s been nominated for this award for all three of his albums, and he’s never won. Plus, his mom.

And Herbie Hancock?!?! WTF?!?!

Record of the Year:

Beyonce, “Irreplaceable”

Foo Fighters, “The Pretender”

Rihanna Feat. Jay-Z, “Umbrella”

Justin Timberlake, “What Goes Around…Comes Around”

Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”

Unique, ubiquitous and wild, this is one of the most original records in years. “Umbrella” could steal it. however.

Song of the Year:

Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats”

Plain White T’s’ “Hey There Delilah”

Corinne Bailey Rae’s “Like a Star”

Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”

Rihanna’s “Umbrella”

It works as a dance/hip-hop song, as R&B, and, as a few artists have proven, as an acoustic hit on the guitar. This remarkably simple tune is the song of the year.

Best New Artist:

Feist

Ledisi

Paramore

Taylor Swift

Amy Winehouse

No contest whatsoever. Amy has this in the bag.

Okay. Maybe I’ll allow myself to make one prediction. I think that Amy Winehouse will win a ton of awards for “Rehab,” but Kanye will finally take Album of the Year for Graduation.

Thoughts?

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6 Responses to Grammy nominations are out!

Amy Winehouse is a stupid crackwhore and I don’t care how good her album was, it would be a waste to give the award to her. She’d probably hock it for a bag of coke, anyway. I hope Kanye gets his awards and I also have to disagree, because I thought “Graduation” was a way better album.

I wonder if Herbie Hancock has ever won a grammy. There was a time when he was THE $#!t, on par with Quincy Jones for performing, writing, and producing. I’ve not heard his latest, but can’t imagine it’s any less good than he ever has been.

That said, Amy Winehouse needs to make another album for me to take her seriously.

I can’t believe you guys! Because she’s a crackhead, she’s irrelevant in music? Look at how many brilliant artists have struggled with substance abuse. Do we disregard their work completely?

The fact is, she made one of the best albums in the past few years, and that’s what should be judged — not her personal life. Whether or not she wins the Grammy, she will continue to use drugs until she hits rock bottom and either cleans up or dies.

And if you’d like another album, Lee, check out her first album, Frank, which was just released in the U.S.